Though no legislation has been passed yet, California officials have made it clear they want to outlaw automobiles powered by internal-combustion engines. But it’s a near certainty they won’t be able to secure an all-electric fleet within their timetable no matter how much they want it to happen.

Democratic state Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco, state Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols, and former Gov. Jerry Brown have all publicly entertained the idea of requiring Californians to switch. Ting has gone so far as to introduce legislation that would ban fossil-fuel powered vehicles by 2040.

Not even former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s silly effort to boost EVs by posing as a car salesman for hidden video cameras can change the harshness of cold facts.